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Experimental analysis of rate-dependent toughness of 3D-printed soft interface composites
No full textThe hierarchical structure of biological nacre has long inspired the design of tough, damage-tolerant synthetic composites for advanced engineering applications. In this study, nacre-inspired composites were fabricated via additive manufacturing, embedding rigid inclusions within a soft polymer matrix, and systematically tested to complete fracture. We proposed innovative geometric designs and benchmarked them against the nacre-like architecture, validating experimental outcomes using the material-sink (MS) fracture modeling framework. This work is the first to reveal the rate-dependent fracture pathways in nacre-like composites across a wide spectrum of loading rates – from quasi-static to dynamic – and to document the novel emergence of inclusion fracture as a dominant failure mode at high strain rates. Moreover, the nacre-like design demonstrated exceptional mechanical performance – outperforming alternative architectures by nearly an order of magnitude in work of fracture – due to its unique, multi-stage fracture mechanism that delays and distributes damage progressively. These findings offer critical new insights into the interplay between architectural design and strain-rate effects, providing unprecedented guidance for optimizing nacre-inspired composites for dynamic, load-bearing applications.The support from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (MAGIC –[852281]) is gratefully acknowledged. Also, K. Y. Volokh is supported by the Israel Science Foundation (ISF-394/20) as well as the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST-0005173).peer-reviewe
An investigation of the endocannabinoid system in low back pain
No full textChronic low back pain (CLBP) is a highly prevalent and debilitating condition, consistently listed among the leading causes of disability worldwide. Despite progress in treatment interventions, a significant proportion of individuals with CLBP still remain unresponsive to current therapies, highlighting the urgent need for novel approaches to understanding its underlying mechanisms and improving treatment outcomes. Alterations within the endocannabinoid system (ECS) are known to be associated with the pathophysiology of CLBP, therefore targeting the ECS could offer a promising avenue for developing effective biomarkers and/or therapeutics for CLBP. This thesis investigates the role of the ECS in the development and severity of CLBP using a translational research context, incorporating both preclinical studies employing a rodent model of intervertebral disc injury (IVDI)-induced low back pain and a clinical study in human patients with CLBP
Agora Barcelona: Politics, aesthetics and space
No full textThe research presented in this thesis is grounded in the city of Barcelona, and the methodology combines archival research (a counter-normative history of Barcelona) and field-research within a dissensual space which goes by the name of Agora. The approach examines time and space as being in relation, thus rendering the time-space of Barcelona as an assemblage of ‘parts’. The question that informs the thesis is: what parts does the city ‘remember to forget’? (see Conversi, 1996, Ealham, 2010). By combining critical genealogy and field-based research, this thesis explores a series of discourses and practices that have formed and given an architectural and biopolitical definition to the city of Barcelona, and which also generate the conditions of existence for dissensual politics to emerge beyond and within the limits of an apparatus of power/knowledge framed as Policy (Rancière, 2011). In the midst of Policy is an agonistic struggle between what Rancière calls Policy and what Moten and Harney describe as Planning (2013). It is the latter that characterises the anarchic power of the Agora.
From the late 18th century, Barcelona converged with imperial Spain. The bounty of this convergence became a formative factor in Barcelona’s process of industrialisation. This created a set of social relations that attempted to partition a hegemonic bourgeois political culture from an urban proletariat through the imposition of a bio-political technique referred to as ‘urbanism’, which in turn generated a resistant politics among those who Rancière describes as ‘the part of no part’, i.e. those disqualified from part taking (participating) in Policy.
In situating the bio political as a technique of what Rancière calls ‘the Police’ (relating to Policy), the thesis applies a critical lens to an enduring, yet fundamentally contingent vii ‘Barcelona Model’, that exists in parallel with the Agora. Emerging from a set of evolving social relations and radical political traditions, the present-day Agora operates as an ‘Undercommons’ (Moten & Harney 2013) that seeks to verify equality and open ‘new ways of being’, and which affords insight into how an emergent dissensus persists at the intersection of politics, space, and aesthetics
Investigating the effects of targeting stromal cell sialylation on the innate immune microenvironment in colorectal cancer
No full textCancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, with colorectal cancer (CRC) standing as a prevalent cause of cancer-related death. Advancements in anti-cancer therapeutics have improved disease outcome for some patients, however the resistant tumour microenvironment (TME) remains a critical contributor to immunosuppression and cancer progression, particularly in stromal-rich CRC tumours. Within the TME, stromal cells such as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) play pivotal functional roles in modulating tumour growth, enhancing immune evasion and invasion in CRC. Stromal cells have an inherent ability for immunomodulation. It is known that immune cells such as macrophages and T cells are located in the stroma of the TME. There is a need to discover and target novel mechanisms of immunosuppression in stromal-rich CRC to improve immunogenicity in poor response tumours.
Sialylation as a hallmark of cancer is a post-translational modification (PTM) in which glycoproteins and glycolipids on the surface of cells are decorated with negatively charged sialic acids, which can propel clusters of cells from tumours, contributing to metastasis. Another key role for sialylation in cancer is tumour immune evasion, through the interaction of sialic acids with immune cell sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin like lectins (Siglecs). Sialylation of cancer cells has been largely explored as a novel therapeutic avenue, however the sialylation pattern and thus sialylation-dependent immunosuppression of stromal cells in the TME of CRC remains elusive, particularly that of innate immune cells.
The work of this thesis investigates the potential efficacy of targeting sialylation of stromal cells to overcome immunosuppression in CRC. In primary human in vitro and ex vivo experiments, stromal cell sialylation was compared to CRC epithelium. We observed CRC stromal cell hypersialylation, with stromal cells expressing high levels of overall sialic acids and Siglec-7, -9 and -10 ligands. In immune co-culture experiments, stromal cellspecific induction of Siglec-10 was observed in macrophages and NK cells. Targeting stromal cell sialylation with sialidase led to increased NK cell cytotoxicity, highlighting the immunosuppressive role of stromal cell sialylation in CRC. Using an in vivo mouse model of CRC, stromal cell sialylation was suppressed using two targeting techniques – sialyltransferases inhibitor (SI) and sialidase (Sia), to assess the impact on immune cell infiltration and phenotypes, and the effects on tumour growth. Novel findings revealed sialic acid inhibition of stromal cells enhanced anti-tumour immune responses of macrophages and NK cells, and reduced tumour burden, highlighting the therapeutic potential of targeting stromal cell sialylation in CRC. Novel Siglec-9 ligands, galectin-1 and CD29, were identified in CRC stroma, highlighting these as potential biomarkers for further investigation in stromal-rich CRC. These findings advance our understanding of the complex interplay between stromal cells, sialylation and immune cells in the tumour immune microenvironment of CRC. These findings establish a basis for further exploration of sialylation as a driver of stromal cell-mediated immunosuppression in CRC, offering a promising future for translational research and improving disease outcomes in CRC.Research Irelan
Artificial Intelligence (AI) assimilation in the public sector: An attention-based exploration of decision-making, leadership, and communication in Saudi Arabia
No full textThe rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has opened new possibilities for public sector organisations to improve service delivery, strengthen decision-making processes, and enhance operational efficiency. However, successfully assimilating AI in government contexts presents distinct challenges that differ markedly from those faced by private sector organisations. Public institutions operate within complex frameworks shaped by multiple stakeholder expectations, stringent regulatory requirements, accountability obligations, and often risk-averse organisational cultures — all of which significantly influence technology assimilation outcomes. Despite growing interest in AI within government, there is still limited understanding of how organisational attention dynamics shape AI assimilation processes. This PhD thesis addresses this critical gap by applying the Attention-Based View (ABV) theory to explore how leadership attention allocation, communication practices, and institutional contexts influence AI integration in public sector organisations
Mentoring for access, retention, and student success: A profile of models developed by Irish higher education institutions
No full textEquity of access to higher education is a global objective, with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 setting a target of ‘equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university’ by 2030 (UN 2015). In Ireland and internationally, mentoring has emerged as a key intervention to support students in accessing, participating, and progressing in their journey to and through higher education. In recent years, innovative approaches have been developed in a range of settings but there can be confusion regarding the aims and operating models of the various initiatives developed. The aim of this paper is to profile the key features of mentoring initiatives for access, retention and student success supported by Higher Education Institutions in an Irish context and to identify associated benefits and challenges. The paper draws on qualitative semi-structured interviews with 23 stakeholders engaged with the West-North-West cluster, a partnership between Atlantic Technological University and the University of Galway.This work was supported by Programme for Access to Higher Education (PATH) 3. PATH 3 is funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and supported by the Higher Education Authority
Mentoring in educational leadership and mentoring for educational leaders: Experiences, motivations, and impact of engagement from the perspectives of Irish post-primary principals
No full textThis mixed-methods study explores the following research questions: “What are the expectations, experiences, and motivations of educational leaders who serve as mentors and mentees in leadership development programmes, and how do different mentoring experiences and approaches influence their professional identities and leadership practices in Irish post-primary schools?”
Situated within the context of increasing complexity in the role of school principals, and Ireland’s evolving national response through structured mentoring initiatives, the research focuses particularly on the mentoring programme delivered by Oide, the national support service for school leaders.
An exploratory sequential mixed methods design was adopted. The qualitative phase involved semi-structured interviews with 14 post-primary principals who had participated in the Oide mentoring programme. Findings from this phase informed the development of a cross-sectional online survey, completed by 28 post-primary principals across a range of school types and contexts. An integrative analytical approach was used to synthesise findings across both phases of the study.
The findings indicate that newly appointed principals who engaged in formal mentoring experienced a more supported and effective transition into leadership, particularly in managing the emotional and organisational complexities of the role. Mentoring relationships were described as safe, affirming spaces that helped mitigate the profound sense of isolation often reported by principals, while fostering emotional resilience and reflective practice. Participants emphasised the relational and affective dimensions of mentoring, which contributed to enhanced professional confidence, moral purpose, and leadership identity. However, widespread concerns were raised about the adequacy of leadership preparation and the informal nature of existing mentoring structures. Principals with prior leadership training tended to engage more meaningfully with mentoring, and many advocated for its formal inclusion beyond leadership induction.
The theoretical framing draws on Kram’s (1983) phases of mentoring and Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) to analyse the processes through which mentoring contributes to leadership development. The study highlights the urgent need for more robust, inclusive, and sustainable mentoring frameworks that are sensitive to the emotional and contextual demands of school leadership. In doing so, it offers both a timely contribution to national policy discourse and a foundation for future research and practice in educational leadership development
From green hydrogen to solar chemicals and fuels: Assessing strategic policy drivers for technology innovation
No full textThis thesis investigates the nexus between hydrogen and a newer, still emerging group of technologies called Solar Chemicals and Fuels (SCF), exploring how targeted policy strategies shape the development, diffusion, and adoption of emerging technologies. It investigates whether, and in what ways, support for hydrogen technologies can also contribute to the development of the less mature SCF technologies. More specifically, it asks Where, When, Why and How current clean hydrogen strategies and policies will also promote the successful development of a solar fuels and chemicals industry – or not. The study examines potential spillover effects between today’s clean hydrogen market and the emerging SCF sector that are derived from this nexus, asking whether these two technological fields are likely to evolve in a more cooperative or competitive direction. The research was conducted within the framework of the Solar2Chem project and received funding from it (MSCA Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 861151).
Recognised by institutions like the IPCC, IEA, and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, hydrogen is expected to play a crucial role in reducing industrial emissions and supporting the European Green Deal and has recently, again, attracted strong political attention and investment. Hydrogen can be produced through various methods, each with different carbon footprints and levels of technological maturity, forming what is often referred to as the ‘hydrogen rainbow’. Within this spectrum, hydrogen production includes renewable pathways for green hydrogen production and solar-based subcategories (Solar-to-X and Artificial Photosynthesis) that produce hydrogen. SCF-related processes, also highly diverse and technically complex are still mostly at an early stage and often remaining in laboratory or experimental settings producing, for example golden hydrogen, which relies on photoelectrochemical processes. Therein lies the nexus explored in this PhD. These solar-driven pathways for hydrogen production are gaining prominence for their potential in supporting the versatility of energy systems. Yet, the fragmented and insufficient support for research, development, and innovation across EU member states continues to hinder the advancement of emerging technologies at lower technology readiness levels. Analysing the interaction between hydrogen and SCF is not straightforward, particularly as when it involves future projections. Thus, to address these questions, this thesis uses Energy and Sustainability Transitions theory and Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) studies. More specifically, the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) is employed as the main theoretical framework to guide the analysis and identify observable patterns.
This article-based PhD is composed of four academic articles. The first article analyses national hydrogen strategies in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Portugal, with attention to their alignment with EU-level policy, the balance between cooperation and competition. The second article explores how hydrogen can support renewable electricity systems in island regions, particularly through energy storage and solar hydrogen production. The third article presents a SWOT analysis based on both academic and grey literature, to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the emerging SCF sector. The fourth article reviews SCF roadmapping efforts from both academic and governmental actors. Together, these articles provide a broad and integrated understanding of how hydrogen and SCF are already interacting and how they might be developed and governed more strategically to support the energy transition in Europe. Across all four articles, one central conclusion appears: the hydrogen market development plays an important role in shaping the progress of SCF.
At present, the nexus between the two sectors can be described as mainly cooperative. In other words, the fourth article finds investment in hydrogen today increases the likelihood that SCF will successfully emerge by the 2040s, but only some SCF technologies are likely to benefit directly from hydrogen policies. The third article confirms the existence of multiple positive and negative drivers, collaboration issues, and that current government policies are not well aligned to support SCF growth. The second article highlights the importance of actors at the regime level, including national grid operators and suggests that SCF could emerge from niche actors, for example on decentralised systems and the military. The first article shows that national hydrogen strategies greatly vary in their ambitions and investment. Countries investing in green or golden hydrogen tend to adopt more cooperative strategies, while those focusing on blue or grey hydrogen offer weaker or more selective support to innovative pathways. Also, in addition to the empirical findings, the thesis contributes to both methodology and theory. Regarding methods, it reflects critically on roadmapping practices and supports the value of SWOT analysis and participatory workshop tools. From a theoretical perspective, the thesis finds the Multi-Level Perspective useful but suggests that it can be strengthened by including insights gained from tools like these to better understand how the different levels interact and reinforce one another.
Finally, the thesis offers several practical recommendations based on its findings. These include the importance of hydrogen fuel certification and the benefits of maintaining a technology-neutral approach rather than attempting to identify and promote specific SCF technologies too early. The study concludes that divergent national hydrogen strategies across Europe raise significant concerns about regulatory coherence, infrastructure readiness, and alignment of sustainable fuels with renewable energy systems and climate goals. It highlights solar chemicals and fuels (SCF) development as highly contingent on stronger policy support and clearer regulatory frameworks for innovation in the area of sustainable fuels and chemicals. Overall, the findings call for coordinated strategies, inclusive roadmaps, and multi-level governance to unlock the transformative potential of hydrogen and SCF technologies. In summary, this research offers an original and detailed analysis of how two interrelated technological areas are evolving as part of the global energy transition. It also provides guidance on how their interaction could be better managed in order to realise the potential of SCF in the near future.European Union Marie-Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 86115
Development of a novel modified hyaluronic acid hydrogel for the enhanced binding and controlled release of extracellular vesicles
No full textMesenchymal stromal cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) demonstrate tremendous therapeutic potential in tissue regeneration applications, however, experience limited efficacy due to rapid clearance post-delivery in vivo. Here, a novel method for retaining EVs within hyaluronic acid (HA)-based hydrogel carriers was explored and parameters were optimized to develop a hydrogel with repeatably and significantly higher EV retentive capacity compared to the existing and widely employed methacrylated hyaluronic acid (Me-HA). EV characterization provided evidence of the pro-proliferative nature of the nanoparticles, including in the presence of hydrogel. Fluorescent as well as fluorescent/bioluminescent EVs were developed to enable tracking during hydrogel optimization for improved EV binding. Methods for quantifying EVs, including several commercially available alternatives, were evaluated in the presence of hydrogel to ensure that those in which hydrogels interfered were not used in tests concerning material development for EV retention. Ultimately, fluorescent EVs experienced very little interference from hydrogels and maintained their fluorescent intensity over the course of six weeks. Thus, they were selected for use in quantifying EV release from materials over time. Novel hydrogel formulations were developed and optimized for the crosslinker density, crosslinking timing, molecular weight, type and degree of modification, and material weight/volume (w/v) concentration that led to the highest EV retention over time and suitable hydrogel mechanical properties. The optimal formulation allowed for more EV retention both on thin layers of hydrogel and within hydrogel scaffolds compared to Me-HA and other novel formulations, as well as in the presence of PBS alone and HA degradation enzyme. Materials were shown to be cytocompatible and exhibited MSC binding ability, and fluorescent EVs encapsulated within hydrogels that were implanted subcutaneously in black mice could be seen through preliminary in vivo imaging analysis
Identification and validation of novel targets of regulated IRE1-dependent decay in triple-negative breast cancer
No full textIRE1 is a primary effector of the unfolded protein response that aims to restore proteostasis to the endoplasmic reticulum. IRE1 possesses a kinase and RNase domain. The RNase activity is responsible for two of the main activities of IRE1 signalling, i.e., removal of a 26-nucleotide sequence to form XBP1s transcription factor and regulated IRE1 dependent decay (RIDD) of RNA. RIDD reduces the expression of genes termed ‘RIDD targets’ by cleavage of CG sequence at a CNGCNG sequence within a stem-loop structure.
IRE1 is constitutively active in triple negative breast cancer. RIDD has a known role in influencing lipid metabolism in triple negative breast cancer via its activity on DGAT2. Identifying additional RIDD target genes could enable us to better understand the role of IRE1 in this cancer.
Bioinformatic analysis was carried out in our lab to identify genes upregulated by IRE1 inhibition in MDA-MB-231 triple negative breast cancer cells. This project aims to add to our understanding of RIDD in the regulation of those genes by validating these potential targets in MDA-MB-231 cells